Bigfoot Networks generated quite a bit of buzz back in 2006 when the company launched the original Killer NIC M1. As many of you probably remember, the original Killer NIC was / is a PCI-based device that featured an on-board network processor, or NPU, that was supposedly able to lower in-game ping times and free up CPU resources, which in turn could increase framerates. The Killer NIC performed these duties by bypassing the Windows networking stack through the use of custom software and offloading network related tasks from the host CPU. And generally speaking, the Killer NIC delivered on all fronts to some degree.

The $250+ price tag of the original Killer NIC was tough to justify, however, and almost immediately there were calls for a PCI Express version of the card. Instead, a few months later the market was treated to the more affordable Killer NIC K1 which had less elaborate cooling and a lower clocked NPU.

Fast forward to today, and Bigfoot Networks is ready with a completely re-vamped PCI Express version of the Killer NIC, dubbed the Xeno Pro. We've had one in the lab for a few weeks, and have the full scoop laid out in the pages ahead. First up the specs, and then we'll dig into the juicy particulars...